In September, the UNFCCC secretariat concluded the second of its three regional workshops on adaptation as
mandated by COP 10 in its Buenos Aires Programme of Work on Adaptation and Response measures.

The African regional workshop on adaptation was held under the patronage of the Environment Protection
Agency of Ghana (EPA) from 21 to 23 September. At the workshop, 33 African country Parties exchanged
information on observing climatic changes and assessing their impacts and countries’ vulnerability to
these changes. Countries also shared their experiences in planning and implementing concrete adaptation
measures in the areas of agriculture and food security, water resources, health and coastal zones.
Besides representatives from African countries, the workshop included participants from developed countries
as well as representatives from a number of organizations.

The workshop was generally successful in fostering an exchange of experiences with good practices on
adaptation, many of which can be replicated beyond their country of origin. Good practices highlighted in
the field of agriculture, for example, included alternative cultivation methods, such as mixed cropping in
Burkina Faso, and appropriate crop selection such as the introduction of improved varieties in Benin.

The workshop also provided for fruitful sharing of information between African participants and support
organizations, be it the GEF and its implementing agencies, or bilateral institutions with a strong focus
on the African region. From this, the need for enhanced access to funding and broadening the sources of
support for adaptation activities emerged. Participants articulated a number of needs and concerns relating
to adaptation, which will need to be taken up in the negotiating process, including the need to facilitate
access to adaptation funding and promote the integration of adaptation planning into national and sectoral
development plans.

Finally, a session devoted to South-South cooperation revealed gaps but also ample opportunities for
further promoting such collaboration and streamlining its effectiveness. This is likely to enhance the
capacity of African nations in implementing joint or coordinated adaptation activities.

The first workshop in this series of regional workshops was held in Peru for the Latin American region in
April. The report on that workshop is included in document FCCC/SBI/2006/19. A number of common
concerns emerged in both the African and Latin American regions, including needs relating to access to
funding and linkages between adaptation and poverty alleviation as well as achievement of the Millennium
Development Goals.

Workshops for small island developing States and Asian countries will be organized next year. The results
of these workshops will feed into the negotiations at COP 13 on what future action is necessary to advance
adaptation in developing countries.

For more information, including agendas, background papers and presentations, please see the
respective workshop webpages: